USPA NEWS - Britain has undergone a substantial change in the Gastronomy Department over the past Two Millennia. Despite how much the British source from other Cultures, Britain has always resonated locally grown, meat-centric Dishes as a fundamental part of what its People eat....

Britain has undergone a substantial change in the Gastronomy Department over the past Two Millennia. Despite how much the British source from other Cultures, Britain has always resonated locally grown, meat-centric Dishes as a fundamental part of what its People eat.

We can start with the Dish that has been served on the Family Table since the Middle Ages : the SUNDAY ROAST. As part of Anglican and English Catholic Tradition, Churchgoers would abstain from eating before services on a Sunday, understandably needing to break their Fast with a large Plateful of Meat afterwards.

We have also the CORNISH PASTRY. Originally, the Meat and Filling was a sort of Packed Lunch encased in Pastry so that Miners and Labourers wouldn’t dirty their Food. It wasn’t until much later in the 14th Century, when Italian Bakers first created Edible Pastry, that the entire Pasty was consumed.

FISH AND CHIPS owe their existence to Immigrants. In the 16th Century, Jewish Immigrants introduced the notion of Frying Fish in a Thin Layer of Flour and, around the same time, Huguenot Immigrants carried the idea of Fat-Fried Potatoes. This, coupled with the heavy trawling of the North Sea, popularised the Dish with the Working Classes. Fish and Chips became such a Huge Part of the National Diet that it was one of the few Foods not rationed during the Second World War.

Many People outside of the UK consider TEA AND BISCUITS almost too clichéd to be True. In the 17th century, Tea was the favourite Beverage of Catherine of Braganza, and when she married Charles II, the Drink became Popular among the Upper Classes. What we now call an Everyday Drink did not permeate into Lower Class Culture until 200 Years Later. Biscuits, were originally a Sugary form of Hardtack, which was a Flour Consistency that would store well, survive handling, and keep long enough for even a Sailor’s most epic Voyage. Hardtack lived up to its name, and those hoping to eat it would often need to soften it buy dunking in Coffee or Brine.

While it’s difficult to accurately pinpoint a specific time when People started piling together Bacon, Bread, Mushrooms, Eggs, and the like onto a Single Plate, the FULL ENGLISH BREAKFAST popularised when it was recognised as a Standard Meal served at B&Bs in the 1960s.... And it goes on and on about the National Dishes....

One of the "Benefits" of having an English Empire was learning quite a bit from the Colonies. From East Asia (China) they adopted Tea (and exported the Habit to India), and from India they adopted Curry-Style Spicing, they even developed a Line of Spicy Sauces including Ketchup, Mint Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce... Today it would be fair to say that Curry has become a National Dish.

L'ENTENTE - Le British Brasserie, opened recently in Paris (France) offering a New Face of the English Gastronomy mainly based on French Organic Products. The Owner, Oliver Woodhead made a point in respecting the Freshness of French Ingredients in a Country in which he has been living for more than 15 Years. What seems the most Improbable Foreign Cuisine now flourishes here : A British Brasserie serving British Delicacies.

The Brasserie’s Founder, Oliver Woodhead, is showing that the Demand in Paris over the past few years for anything Anglo-American is widely proven, pointing out that pretty much any Anglo Chef here, or French Chef serving Anglo Food, packs out his Restaurant. We should wonder if the reason that Parisians were now keen to eat Foreign Food is because the age-old French Assumption of French Superiority is fading. Another Trauma came with the arrival of the Internet, which was mostly in English, after that, French Resistance to Anglo-American Cultural Imperialism gradually faded.

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